dyaryo magdalo

8/14/2019 Dyaryo Magdalo

1/8

VOL. I NO. 21 NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 2009

WHY LAIBAN?

Give Magdalo

a chance!By REPORTORIAL TEAM

To page 3

Page 6 Page 7

Guns that

dont fire,

scheme

that earns

bigPage 8

The Rise

& Fall of

Pacquiao

and

Cotto

Only jury justice can save PhilippinesBY the nature of the cultureand traditions politics havebecome in the Philippines,there is no more hope to thiscountry to become better,contributing reasons forthe brains to drain furtherto other countries.

By TOTO CAUSINGEvery election, those

elected in office have be-come less and less intelli-gent yet more and more im-moral.

Actually, even those in-telligent ones become vic-tims of retrogression of mo-rality. Of course, how can

you say that there is an hon-est politician when we knowhe or she spent millions ofpesos in order to win?

Many political clans nolonger bother to have theirchildren educated becausetheir childrens future assuccessors is assured by the

political foundations laiddown by force, intimidationand money.

Fewer and fewer lawyersand doctors get elected.And if we found some,chances are they are alreadyconsumed by greed or apa-thy or even boldness to do

even the most heinouscrimes if only to achievetheir purpose. This is thereason killings have becomeordinary among candidatesor political enemies. This isthe reason that a few bravehearts among the journalistsare killed in the provinces.

The lack of quality of ourleaders has spelled the deca-dence, the collapse of de-cency, and the breakdownof morality.

For how can we haveconscience-stricken leaderswhen no one can win anelection To page 5

WITH due respect,the Honorable Menwho signed the reso-lution denying thepetition of GrupongMagdalo to be ac-credited as a regionalpartylist were too vin-dictive and nave tothe bigger interest ofshowing to all Filipi-nos that all gripes can

be ventilated throughthe ballot and notthrough the bullet.

To the contrary, theCommission on Electionsshould even encourage allarmed rebel groups to trythe ballot for they may havea chance to achieve theirrespective aspirations.

With the denial ofGrupong Magdalos peti-

tion, the resolution hastended to solidify the cry ofmany rebels that problemsin relation to the countryand government can be re-solved by the barrel of thegun.

The resolution churnedout by the Comelec is briefbut reflective of unfoundedbiases.

To the contrary, the

Comelec should have beenhappy that GrupongMagdalo led by SenatorAntonio Trillanes IV isgiving ballots a chance toset as example to the MoroIslamic Liberation Front(MILF), the Moro NationalLiberation Front (MNLF),the New Peoples Army(NPA) and the Communist

Rhian walksto heaven

WHY insist on Laiban Dam when there is WawaDam?

Why Laiban Dam when there are 10,000 families to bedislocated while in Wawa Dam it is already there for 100years and there is nothing more to relocate?

Why Laiban Dam when two indigenous tribes would bedriven away from their native lands they have occupiedeven before the Spanish era and this fact gave them theirnative title under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act(IPRA) while there is no issue of land ownership with re-gard to Wawa Dam?

Why Laiban Dam when they have still to spend OneBillion Dollars while in Wawa Dam they would spend neg-ligible amount because there would be nothing more tobuild but only to reinforce or improve the existing struc-ture?

Why Laiban Dam when they still have to submerged

23,000 hectares of the lowland and flora and fauna whileWawa Dam is already there with practically no more envi-ronmental issue?

Why Laiban Dam when the length of pipes to be laidout is much longer than when Wawa Dam

P8-billion expectedcommission to be

used for 2010 polls?

By TOTO CAUSING

to chooseballot over

bullet

WHILE millions ofFilipinos are hungryand have nothing fortheir noche buena, par-ticularly the victims ofsuper typhoons On-doy and Pepeng, of-ficials of the LandBank of the Philip-pines led by its chair-man, Finance Secre-tary Margarito Teves,and its president andCEO, Gilda E. Pico,look very greedy.

They have been feastingon super-fat salaries, allow-ances and benefits they

have received get withoutconscience.Aside from their salaries

ranging from P130,000 toP400,000 a month and ben-efits, bonuses and allow-ances they get from theLandbank, these officialsstill showed their extremegreed by receiving equally-big benefits, bonuses dur-ing Christmas holidays fromsubsidiary corporations ofthis official depository of thegovernment.

This super greed wascaught by the Commissionon Audit (COA), which es-

DOUBLE-COMPENSATION RACKET AT LANDBANK!

GREEDY!By REPORTORIAL TEAM

timated the double compen-sation and excessive bo-nuses during Christmasholidays to have reachedP8.979 million.

The huge amount in-cludes Christmas raffle andyear-end gift package,Christmas representation,business development ex-pense, representation andentertainment expense, andperformance incentive ben-efit.

These were disallowedby COA, which revealedthat LBP officers who arelikewise board members of

LBP subsidiaries have beenreceiving double compen-sation.

The COA said that theseofficers received the samebenefits from LBP, to whichthey hold permanentplantilla positions.

In citing the violation,COA cited Section 8, ArticleIX-B (Civil Service Commis-sion ) of the 1987 Constitu-tion, which states: No elec-tive or appointive officer oremployee shall receive ad-ditional, double or indirectcompensation, unless spe-cifically To page 3

To page 2

Privileged Spits


2/8

NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 20092

G/F Volets Commercial Building, Gen. E. Aguinaldo Highway,Dasmarias, Cavite 4115

(046) 416.6521 [email protected]

Rm. 305-A, National Press Club Bldg., Magallanes DriveIntramuros, Manila (02) 309.7671

Publisher:

RONALDO E. RENTA

Editorial:

TOTO CAUSING RONALD B. HERICO

Editor-In-Chief Associate EditorDisclaimer:

All news articles and opinions expressed by the writers are en-

tirely their own and do not reflect the opinion of the publisher, themanagement or the editor of this publication. All Rights Reserved:

No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced nor trans-lated in any language or form for commercial purposes without prior

written permission from the publisher and its writers or columnists.

MAGDIWANG

PUBLICATIONS

is made as the source ofwater?Why Laiban Dam when

Wawa dam is just one-hourride from Cubao, QuezonCity when the purpose is toprovide water to Metro Ma-nila?

Why Laiban Dam whenthe volume of water it cansupply is not substantiallyimportant compared to the5,000 million liters everydaythat Wawa Dam can give?That is, if it were indeed truethat the supply of waterwithin five to ten years fromnow would be critical for

Metro Manila.Why does the Metro-politan Waterworks Sewer-age Systems (MWSS) loveto spend $1 billion whenthey can spend practicallynothing for the Wawa Dam?

And, finally, why are theyhurrying up this project atthis time when the May 2010elections are forthcoming?

If there are some possibleanswers to these manyquestions, it is that theLaiban project will offermore opportunity for kick-backs in at least 15% or anequivalent of P8 billion; that

it is being rushed so that thecommission can be used tocampaign for administrations candidates, par-ticularly its presidential betDefense Secretary GilbertoGibo Teodoro Jr.

These questions andmost probable answershover over the heads ofGloria Macapagal Arroyo,Teodoro and his uncleDanding Cojuangco, theboss of San Miguel BulkWater Corp., the proponentof the Laiban project.

Opposition

pressed Gloriato junkLaiban project

Amidst these questionsand suspicions over theearlier reports of secrecypolicy on the project, SaveSierra Madre Network(SSMN) called on PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo toissue an executive orderscrapping the MWSS pro-posed 113-meter highLaiban Dam Project.

SSMN and two othergroups, Freedom from DebtCoalition (FDC) and

Pambansang Kilusan ngSamahang Magsasaka(PAKISAMA), stressedthat the proposed damproject is anti-environment,anti-development and anti-human rights.

They said that the damreservoir of 28,000 hectareswill displace 4,413 familiesfrom seven barangays.

They added that the damwill also bury under waterthe legally-protected rain-forest areas that host en-demic and endangered spe-cies along with areas beingclaimed as ancestral lands

WHY LAIBAN?by the Dumagat andRemontado natives.

Under the IPRA law, theancestral lands are vestedproperty rights of the na-tives, called as nativetitles by reason of the rec-ognition that they pos-sessed these lands evenbefore the coming of theSpaniards.

The groups also opposethe big risk to dam break orrelease of sudden bursts oflarge water volumes as whathappened to San RoqueDam in Pangasinan. Theyfear that in this even a re-peat of the destructive floodin Northern Quezon in No-

vember 2004 will again re-sult in unimaginable catas-trophes.

They also pointed outthat the dam site is proximateto the active Marikina faultzone.

Also, the groups in-sisted that Metro Manilasconsumers would bear thebrunt of the costs for theproject.

At present, they pointedout that water supply in themetropolis is already expen-sive.

entire length of the march,consisting of representa-

tives from the indigenouspeoples, farmers, women,rural workers, youth and re-ligious sector. Among thescheduled stops is theMWSS office in Balara,Quezon City.

Betteralternatives

The groups insisted thatthe government need notproceed with the LaibanDam proposal becausethere are available alterna-tives.

They pointed out a solu-

tion to restore the denudedforests in Angat, Ipo and LaMesa watersheds to in-crease the water level inthese three areas.

They also stressed thatthe government also needto intensify anti-loggingcampaign.

They also pointed outthe existing Wawa Dam,which, they said, needs onlyto rehabilitate its watershedto increase it water flow.

They also pointed outanother option which is to

bank of Marikina River.Before, this was the

source of water to MetroManila. Its use ceased whenthe MWSS relied heavily onAngat Dam.

Because it is untapped,millions of gallons of freshwater are just emptied toMarikina River and ontoPasig River without use.

Moreover, Wawa Damhas a watershed area threetimes the size of the water-shed of La Mesa Dam.

The proposal of SanLorenzo Ruiz Builders Corp.is at no cost to the govern-ment because it will onlyneed to recoup the expenses

from consumers when thesupply begins.An Inquirer columnist

said the corporation submit-ted its proposal to the Na-tional Water ResourceBoard (NWRB) but it hasnot been given a look.

The columnist said thatthe NWRB has consistentlyrefused to give its approvalwithout explanation.

Secrecy overLaiban deal

means that what is neededis only about one milliongallons a day.

This requirement cansufficiently be answered byWawa Dam that wastes mil-lions of gallons of water aday as of the present.

Actually, even thenNEDA Director GeneralRalph Recto requiredMWSS to explain why theproject proposal was keptsecret from its eyes. Rectoresigned later.

Even journalists noted

the elusiveness of MWSSofficials being sought to beinterviewed about theproject.

Laiban Damwill doublewater price

It is insisted that ifLaiban Dam pushesthrough, it will cause theprice of water to double af-ter five years.

This is expected becauseit shows that the contracthad with the proponent isone that requires the State

to guarantee payments ofprofits even if the productis unused.

This is similar to the inde-pendent power contractorsagreements during the powercrisis during the time of Fi-del V. Ramos as president.

Under this IPP contracts,

even if the electric powergenerated by IPPs were notused, the profits and ex-penses were still to be paidby the consumers ascharged by Meralco.

The Laiban project ap-pears to be of similar termsand conditions.

If that is so, the consum-ers will shoulder the pay-ment for the unused waterfrom Laiban.

Recto wrote the MWSSasking for an explanation forthe take or pay clause that

in effect compels the gov-ernment to pay even for un-used water.

The columnist labeledthe response as disingenu-ous: No, the governmentis not guaranteeing theinvestors debts in case ofdefault.

To this, Recto rejoined:That doesnt make a differ-ence, because in effect thestate actually guaranteesthe investors profit anduses public money to insu-late him from the usual riskthat any businessman facesin the open market.

It was also cited that eventhe two private water conces-sionaires for Metro ManilaManila Water and MayniladWaterwere also not in-formed about the projectwhen it is them that woulddirectly source the water incase Laiban is pushed.

If Laiban Dam is realized,the groups fear that the pricetag of $1B will be hiked toalmost $2B due to delays andhuge cost overruns, whichnormally happen to largedam construction.

With this, the groupsstressed that the residentsof the metropolis would bepaying a very high price percubic meter.

148-kilometermarch vs Laiban.

To press their opposi-tion, these three groupshave already set to begintheir 128-kilometer marchstarting November 4 in thetown of General Nakar inQuezon Province.

Dubbed Lakad Labansa Laiban Dam, the marchwill end at Malacaang onNovember 12, seeking to re-peat the success of the farm-ers who walked fromSumilao, Bukidnon to fightfor agrarian lands.

About one hundredmarchers were set to join the

reduce the demand for wa-ter coupled with improve-ment of the efficiency of theManila Water and Mayniladby reducing their non-rev-enue water levels whichtranslate to wastage.

Wawa Dampushed

A proponent opposingSan Miguel Bulk WaterCorp. has proposed the useof Wawa Dam by just lay-

ing out pipes to empty to LaMesa Dam.However, the proposal

made by San Lorenzo RuizBuilders Corp., which hasrights over the dam, hasfallen on deaf ears.

Aged 100 years old,Wawa Dam is located in thenearby Rodriguez (formerlyMontalban) town in Rizal.

It empties into MarikinaRiver.

During typhoon On-doy, this dam unloadedhuge water volume that com-pletely submerged almost allsingle-story houses near the

Another columnist of theInquirer scored the appear-ance that the MWSS hasbeen secretive about thisLaiban dam.

It was learned that SanMiguel Corp. submitted anunsolicited bid to buildthe P52-billion Laiban damin Tanay, Rizal.

This, according to him,is MWSS largest singleproject in its 131-year his-tory, to secure new sourcesfor the water supply of

Metro Manilas 12 millionresidents with the expecta-tion that a shortfall will hitin five years.

If one resident consumesfive liters of water everydayon the average, it means that60 million of litters a daymust be assured after fiveyears, assuming the popu-lation will not increase.

Now, assuming the popu-lation will increase by onemillion, an additional fivemillion liters of water isneeded.

If one gallon has an av-erage of four liters, this

From page 1

A view ofWawa Dam

flowingendlessly to

MarikinaRiver

A view ofWawa Damfrom anelevatedpoint


3/8

3NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 2009

Give Magdalo a chance at ballot

welcomes your comments

and suggestions.

[email protected]

Send us your feedback at:

DRUG BUST --Four persons from whom were seized 160 teabags of dried marijuanaleaves in a drug bust were presented to the media by Chief Insp. Jay Agcaoili, chief of theNPD District Anti-Illegal Drugs (DAID). Arrested in the buy-bust operation conducted atBlock 4, Phase 3, Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City are Conrado Ayuste; Bernadeth Garcia;Jayson Yambao and Joey Lobo. Photo by NICK GALINO

Party of the Philippines(CPP).But the Comelec resolu-

tion killed this chance deadon the spot.

And if the Comelec rulesonly on the basis of the evi-dence presented, there wasno reason for it to deny ac-creditation.

What the Comelec didwas to use evidence notfound in the records of thecase.

The statement of thepurpose of GrupongMagdalo is legal. It is theirrepresentation so that it

must be given due presump-tion that it is performing itstask as a party on the basisof what it declares in its pe-tition.

The fact that most of themembers of GrupongMagdalo are facing rebel-lion charges is not a justifi-cation. They are not yetconvicted and they cannotbe legally considered asrebels. And as to those whopleaded guilty in exchangefor freedom are not membersanymore of the party.

Thus, there is no evi-dence that the purpose of

Grupong Magdalo is unlaw-ful.

To elucidate on the mat-ter, the press statement ofGrupong Magdalo is herebyquoted, in toto:

PRESS STATEMENTOF THE MAGDALO

GROUP

Marso Caf andRestaurant

October 30, 2009

With due respect to theSecond Division of theHonorable Commission on

Elections, ang GrupongMagdalo ay naniniwala naang RESOLUSYON nainilabas nila kamakailanlamang patungkol sa amingpetition for accreditationbilang partido politikal ayHINDI PATAS, WALA SAAYOS, at PUNO NG

From page 1 BUTAS dahil sa mgasumusunod na dahilan:

1. Ang RESOLUSYON aybase sa espekulasyonlamang, at nakatuon sa mgaMOTIBO raw ng mgatagapagtatag ng grupongMAGDALO PARA SAP A G B A B A G O(Magdalo). AngRESOLUSYON ay hindi pobase sa ebidensiya but onpure conjecture and presup-positions;

2. The RESOLUTIONpreempts the Court tryingthe case, kung saanngayon ay nililitis pa po sa

Makati Regional TrialCourt, Branch 148. TheRESOLUTION unfairly jumped at the conclusionthat the founders of theMagdalo employed vio-lence and use unlawfulmeans and in the processdefied the laws of organizedsociety during theOakwood Incidentsamantalang ang Kortemismong naglilitis sa kasoay HINDI PA PONAGLALABAS NGDESISYON patungkol dito.

3. Because of this, the

RESOLUTION violated ourConstitutional right to thepresumption of innocence,lalung-lalong na ng mgatagapagtatag, and the rightof the Magdalo to due pro-cess of law.

4. The RESOLUTIONalso cites documents whichwere never presented asevidence during our petitionhearing and which are notpart of the records of thecase [i.e., the supposedrecords of the court martialhearing referred to in Letter(c) of the observations of

the ponente as appearing onPages 5 & 6 of the RESO-LUTION].

5. The RESOLUTIONalso assumes facts NAHINDI BASE SAEBIDENSIYA. Its conclu-sions regarding the

Oakwood Incident have nobasis on record SA

ANUMANG KORTE at sakatunayan ay HITIK PO SAPAGKAKAMALI. A casein point are the claims in theRESOLUTION that sev-eral innocent civilian per-sonnel were held hostageand the Magdalo groupused violence which arecompletely false and utterlybaseless.

6. The RESOLUTIONwas not based on a determi-nation of whether or not theMAGDALO met all of therequirements for accredita-tion as a Political Party

AND WE HAVE MET THEREQUIREMENTS po butapparently, the RESOLU-TION is based on the per-sonal bias and prejudice ofthe ponente.

These bring to light otherissues:

1. Fundamental fairnessof the COMELEC

DAHIL PO SARESOLUSYON na ito, itbrings to the fore the issueof the fundamental fairnessof the COMELEC. Mawa-

lang-galang na po sa mgamakakaliwang-grupo, butwhy is it that left-leaninggroups, even those identi-fied with the NPA, havebeen accredited by theCOMELEC and have in factbeen allowed to participatein the National, Local andParty-List elections whilethe Magdalo, which is com-posed of former officers andenlisted personnel of theArmed Forces of the Philip-pines, and now even civil-

ians, are denied the sameopportunity? Does the

COMELEC have a biasagainst former members ofthe AFP? O dapat po bangmaging retirado ka munangheneral ng AFP na kahitnabansagan kang berdugopero dahil ka-alyado ngadministrasyon aypapaboran ka?

2. Faulty Logic of theReason Cited for the Denial

The view expressed bythe RESOLUTION is alsomyopic and short-sighted.The logic is also defective. Ifthe desire of Magdalo is to

merely recruit and indoctri-nate disciplined followerswho may become their blindfollowers, we would not goto the trouble of filing a peti-tion for accreditation with the

COMELEC. We could verywell have achieved this pur-

pose by forming even an in-formal group or a secret orclandestine organization atpatagong mag-recruit ngmga miyembro, at kung anopa.

The fact that theMagdalo have decided toform a group and apply foraccreditation as a politicalparty signifies the groupsdesire and firm resolve tocontinue its advocacy forreforms through legitimateand lawful means, particu-larly by participating in theelectoral process.

In fact, it is in the bestinterest of the country forCOMELEC to encourage theMagdalo group to join themainstream of Filipino soci-

ety and allow it to partici-pate in the democratic pro-

cess, especially in elections,by approving its applicationfor accreditation as a politi-cal party sa halip na I-ISO-LATE KAMI at ITULAKKAMI SA FRINGES sapagbasura n gamingpetisyon.

Steps Moving Forward

Because of the issues nakababanggit ko po lamang,amin pong i-aapila saKagalang-galang naCOMELEC en banc, lalo nakay Chairman Jose Melo,within the period prescribed

by the rules PARA POMAANYAYAHAN angCommission on Elections toreconsider, at kung maari,rebisahin ang RESOLUSYON po na ito.

DOUBLE-COMPENSATION RACKET AT LANDBANK!

From page 1authorized by law.The Department of Bud-

get and Management, in itsCircular Letter 2003-10 datedOctober 17, 2003 on the Pro-hibition on the Grant of Ad-ditional Bonuses in anyform provides that:

2.1 Unless authorizedby law or by the President,the grant of additional bo-nus in the form of cash, gro-ceries, gift certificates andother goods to officials andemployees is strictly pro-hibited.

Among the LBP subsid-iaries involved in double-compensation racket ascited in the COA audit find-ings are LBP Insurance Bro-kerage Inc. (LIBI), LB RealtyDevelopment Corporation(LBRDC), LANDBANKCountryside DevelopmentFoundation Inc (LCDFI),Masaganang Sakahan, Inc.(MSI).

According to the LBPwebsite, the LBP officerswho are also board membersand officers of the subsid-iaries are as follows:

LBP Leasing Corpora-

tion - Board of Directors:Gilda E. Pico Chairperson;Cecilia C. Borromeo direc-tor; Julio D. Climaco, Jr. member; Rodrigo B. Supea member; Albert C. Balingit- member (likewise board ofdirector, Land Bank of thePhilippines;Executive Com-mittee: Alfonso B. Cruz, Jr. member; Cecilia C.Borromeo member; Cor-porate Officer: Felix L.Manlangit- corporate sec-retary.

LBRDC Board of Di-rectors: Gilda E. Pico

Chairperson; George J.Regalado - Vice Chairman(also LBP member of theboard); Carlos T. Castro Member; Alfonso B Cruz, Jr. Member; Atty. Jesus F.Diaz Member; Conrado B.Roxas Member; Dante R.Tinga, Jr. Member; Exe-cutive Committee:George J.Regalado Chairman; Atty.Jesus F. Diaz Member;Carlos T. Castro Member;Corporate Officers:CarlosT. Castro - President & Gen.Manager; Atty. Manuel C.Piczon - Corporate Sec-retary; Emerita E. Olayvar -

Corporate TreasurerLCDFI Board of Direc-

tors: Margarito Teves Chairman; trustees:Gilda E.Pico, Cresencio R. Selispara,Carmelita M. Hain;Wilhelmino G. Agregado.Antonio T. Hernandez,Raymundo A. Dionisio,Omar T. Salvo; ExecutiveCommittee: Antonio T.Hernandez, Raymundo A.Dionisio; Current Offic-ers: Iluminada Cabigas,president; Erlinda G. Caro-lina-Ramos, Executive Di-rector; Miguel M. Gonzalez,

Corporate Secretary;Rosario B. Belmonte, Corpo-rate Treasurer; Felix L.Manlangit, Assistant Cor-porate Secretary.

MSIBoard of Directors:Gilda E. Pico Chairperson;Atty. Jesus F. Diaz - ViceChairman; Simeona S.Guevarra Treasurer; An-tonio T. Hernandez Mem-ber; Wilfredo C. Maldia Member; Executive Com-mittee:Atty. Jesus F. Diaz Chairman; Simeona S.Guevarra Treasurer; An-tonio T. Hernandez Mem-ber; Corporate Officers:

Gilda E. Pico Chairperson;Atty. Jesus F. Diaz - ViceChairman; Simeona S.Guevarra Treasurer; Atty.Miguel M. Gonzales Cor-porate Secretary and LegalCounsel; Atty. Danilo B.Beramo Asst. CorporateSecretary and Legal Coun-sel; Mr. Gabriel M. Jayme General Manager.

LIBI Board of Directors:Gilda Pico, chairperson;Alfonso B. Cruz, Jr., Vice-Chairman of the Board;Jesus F. Diaz, excom chair-man, president; Andres

Sarmiento, director; Corpo-rate Officers: ReynauldVillafuerte, corporate secre-tary; Jennifer Tantan, chair-person, Investment Commit-tee; Conrado Roxas, inter-nal auditor.

Since 2001, 2004 and2008, the COA Legal andAdjudication Office-Corpo-rate issued several noticesof disallowance to the sub-sidiaries.

The same office foundout that these agencies didnot take any action to re-cover or collect such hugeamount. To page 7


4/8

NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 20094

Canvassing a lawyer

THE second most impor-tant consideration in yourplan to dissolve your mar-riage is looking for a law-yer. Of course, this mustcome after you have finallyand ultimately decided toend your misery and puta closure to the nightmar-ish phase of your life:your marital life!

Let me point out, beforewe proceed, that the firstthing a foreigner wouldask whenever he talks toFilipino lawyer is to ask fora field of expertise.

But in benighted coun-try of ours, lawyers are

considered Jacks of alltrades, handymen for alllegal problems.

A Filipino lawyer canprocesses your corpora-tion paper and advises youin business and taxschemes at the same time.He may defend you in acriminal or civil suit andnotarizes your documentsalso. He does a lot ofthings.

In the Philippines, thereare two types of lawyers:the practicing and thenon-practicing.

We refrain from adopt-ing the general definitionof a practice of law as laid

down by the SupremeCourt in the case entitledCayetano vs. Monsod.

In this case, it defines:A practice of law

means any activity, in orout of court, which requires the application of law, le-gal procedure, knowledge,training and experience. Toengage in the practice oflaw is to perform actswhich are usually per-

formed by members of thelegal profession. Generally,

to practice law is to render any kind of service whichrequires the use of legal knowledge or skill.

Our meaning of practiceof law here does not com-prehend the jurisprudentialpronouncements laid downby the High Tribunal. We

used it rather colloquiallyand in a very limited sense.We employ it in an ordi-

nary usage and as commonlyunderstood by a layman.

Practice refers to theactual performance or ap-

plication of knowledge asdistinguished from mere

possession of knowledge. Itconnotes an active, ha-bitual, repeated or custom-ary action. To practicelaw, or any profession forthat matter, means to exer-cise or pursue an employ-ment or profession actively,habitually, repeatedly orcustomarily.

Filipino lawyers them-

selves understand thephrase when they refer tothemselves as one engagedin the practice of law.

However, for purposes of

dissolving your marriage ordeclare it as non-existentfrom the start, there are cer-tain types or characteristicsof a lawyer you must lookfor in order to attain the ulti-mate goal of freedom withlittle pain and less trouble.

You dont canvass a law-yer to determine whocharges less.

Although expenses areessential, lawyer-client rela-tionship is more about trustand confidence.

And you dont put aprice tag to your freedom.You go for the counsel whocould offer you a peace ofmind and tranquility.

In canvassing a lawyer,determine two things: first,

determine who is a lawyerwho could help you to haveyour marriage dissolved ordeclared null; and, second,determine who could helpyou in achieving your pur-pose quickly.

Private Practitioner Not all lawyers are privatepractitioners but all privatepractitioners are lawyers.

You may have relativesor friends who happen to belawyers but employed eitherin private companies or pub-lic offices.

You may initially consultthem and in return they maygive you initial suggestionsbut they cannot file the pe-

tition, or much less they can-not handle it in the mannera private practitioner does.

Private practitioners aresurgeons of the legal pro-

fession. Remember, an an-nulment or nullity petitionis like an open heart surgeryor a double bypass proce-dure. You do not go to ageneral-practitioner doctor.You go to a heart specialist.

Here are some tips:Psychologically capable

Annulment or nullity pe-tition procedures almost al-ways is a very sensitive andcritical issue.

It strikes the finest emo-tional and psychologicalchords of the clients. Thus,it would be imperative for alawyer to have good graspsof human behavior.

It is not required for acounsel to have an in-depthunderstanding of various

philosophies on psychol-ogy but it is desirable thathe or she possesses a work-ing knowledge on the fieldof human psychology.

Lawyer should be able toempathize with his clients,as well as he must be extra-careful and sensitive.

Remember, more oftenthan not, annulment- or nul-lity-petition clients are justgetting out from a bad mar-riage and, like a patient, cli-ents must be treated withutmost tender-loving care.

People-friendly Thelight and sunny dispositionof lawyer would definitelylessen the burden that the

client is carrying on hershoulders.Can you imagine a situa-

tion where an annulment- ornullity-petition client would

be meeting a very melan-cholic and despondentcounsel? It will surely addto the clients depression.

But a smiling and cheer-ful appearance of a lawyerwould make it easy for theclient to relax and expressher emotion without inhibi-tion or trepidation.

Remember, no matterwhose fault it is why themarriage is being sought tobe dissolved or declared in-valid from the start, no per-son would like to feel re-

jected and unwanted.Product-oriented The

lawyer must deliver.No doubt, in this pro-

ceeding, the product is dis-solution or declaration of

nullity of your marriage.Client would highly ap-preciate if it is done in relaxand swift fashion, having inmind that a quick surgery isbetter than a longer one.

A lawyer should not pro-long the clients agony ofwaiting but rather clear theatmosphere of uncertaintyand insecurity.

It is also a must for a law-yer to orient his or her clienton various stages and pro-cesses and must walk an ex-tra-mile to update the clienton a regular basis.

Place of abode/Place ofAbogado This requisiteseems innocuous and un-

necessary but experiencewould tell us that lawyersresidence or office is crucialto speed up the process orproceeding.

BAGONG SIMULA? PWEE!IS Commission on Elections (Comelec) playing favor-

ite in the matter of REGISTRATION of NEW VOTERS?This I ask because of two incidents I witnessed.FIRST, there was a great deal of difficulty of register-

ing in STA. ROSA CITY, LAGUNA. The LINE was LONG.Besides, their time was consumed by insensible matters.

There have been many persons qualified to vote whosuffered in the long line for the whole day and only toend up unregistered.

The REASON is that the Comelec office there onlyhad ONE COMPUTER for voters registration.

I pity the people of Sta. Rosa.This, while what I saw on television was that the

Comelec gave SUPER VIP TREATMENT in registeringKapamilya Network STARS.

Why? What is the difference between the actressesof ABS-CBN and ordinary Filipinos that they were nottreated equally even only in the matter of registration ofvoters.

Is this what the ABS-CBN is saying: SILA ANGBAGONG SIMULA?

Or is this a BAGONG SIMULA of manipulation ofthe voters number?

As to the long line of Sta. Rosa voters who were notregistered despite the whole day of queuing up, theComelec even blamed them as fond of LAST-MINUTEREGISTRATION.

LAST MINUTE?Is it not that what the Comelec did to KAPAMILYA

NETWORK stars also LAST MINUTE?Is KAPAMILYA NETWORK that SPECIAL to the

Comelec?Please EXPLAIN, Ms. RACHEL FORTUNA! SEN. CHIZ ESCUDERO, YOU SHOCKED ALL!AHA, the mettle shone bright for Sen. CHIZ

ESCUDERO when he shocked the nation with center-stage-grabbing act of announcing at the Club Filipinothat he had already resigned from Nationalist PeoplesCoalition (NPC), although he said he maintained his OP-TION OPEN for 2010 elections.

Kapamilya stars VIPs in voters listup?[Many from the media were dismayed because they were

asked to go to Club Filipino when the announcement tobreak away from Nationalist Peoples Coalition (NPC) couldbe made at his office in the Senate.]

There, you see that the public was kept hanging. CHIZmust be a different specie.

After announcing earlier that he was READY TO RUNFOR THE PRESIDENCY under NPC banner, he quickly took

an ABOUT-FACE.From the whispering and teasing that we heard, tworeasons have been advanced why Chiz took a U-turn.

Some said that it was a BLOOD-IS-THICKER-THAN-WATER thing. Defense Secretary GIBO TEODORO is afavorite nephew of NPC boss, DANDING COJUANGCO.

This means that the leaning of the San Miguel Boss istoward his nephew, son of Dandings favorite sibling,Mercedes Cojuangco Teodoro.

One thing more, Danding is known to be betting onlyon a LLAMADO and not in a DEHADO.

Second, the expectation of Chiz that he would be givenP2 billion would not come true as it appeared that he waspromised only a P200-MILLION campaign budget.

Are these the reasons why CHIZ backed out of NPC?But according to Chiz, it was not the budget that was

the reason because he has been used to live with less.So what really is the reason, Sen. CHIZ? Why did you

bolt NPC? And why is it that you are now singing a differ-

ent tune?Please explain, Sen. LOREN LEGARDA!BUTCH FRANCISCO, BACKED OUTOF CONGRESSIONAL RACE IN PASAY?It was reported that PAGCOR COO and President

RAFAEL Butch FRANCISCO has backed out of the racefor congressman of Pasay City.

The rumors in Pasay City said that because he and Con-gressman Lito Roxas are both running under the adminis-tration party, Francisco was told by the Malacaang toback out.

The truth, the rumors had it, is that it was promised longbefore by the Palace to LITO ROXAS.

So this must be the reason why Kuyang BUTCH cannever be seen anymore to be doing the rounds distributingwhatever goods to the residents of Pasay.

This rumor or news broke out during the birthday cel-

ebration of COUNCILOR ONIE BAYONA.We heard that Rep. TOLITS went to the party and

REVEALED the GOOD NEWS that the PALACE has de-cided to give him the support instead of giving it to Fran-cisco.

The guests clapped to this revelation by the incum-bent congressman.

The question: what will ex-CAPT. DING SANTOS say

about this? Please relay to this servant the news about it.JOLLIBEE OUTLETS IN NAIA TERMINAL 2 & 3ARE STRONG AS ONDOYTO MR. TONY TAN CAKTIONGThe JOLLIBEE OUTLETS at NAIA Terminal 2 and Ter-

minal 3 are super strong, like typhoon Ondoy, to Mr.Tony Tan Caktiong.

This was confirmed by a businessman who is a rela-tive of this Deadline Beater.

According to the relative who is also a Jollibee fran-chisee in Metro Manila, he went through a lot of ques-tions and answers because Jollibee is too strict in allaspects of the business when it comes to sanitation.

But this relative got puzzled after reading what I wroteabout the two JOLLIBEE OUTLETS at the NAIA.

One is at the NAIA Terminal 3 and the latest is atNAIA Terminal 2.

This relative is asking why is it that the STANDARDShave been changed for these two Jollibee outlets at NAIAT-2 & T-3.

He pointed out that the Jollibee outlet at the NAIATerminal 3 is the only outlet that has a MOBILE KITCHENstationed at the back of the MULTI-LEVEL PARKINGAREA near the office of Takenaka in the basement of theNAIA Terminal 3 Building.

As to the newest one to be opened at the NAIA T-2, itcannot be known where will it cook its food because ithas no kitchen of its own.

For this exposure to different pollutants, it is justifiedto say that the two Jollibee outlets are UNSANITARY interms of preparation of foods.

For sure, the one who approved the franchises did notknow of these actual conditions.

So that, why is it that Jollibee turned out to be notstrict to these two outlets?

Please answer, Mr. Tan Caktiong!

By RONALDO E. RENTA

TTTTTRAILBLAZERAILBLAZERAILBLAZERAILBLAZERAILBLAZERRRRR

Jerrys BlogsBy JERRY S. YAP

If you are going to fileyour petition in Panga-sinan, it is ideal that youlook for a lawyer who livesor holds office there.

This is because locallawyers are familiar fixturesin the hall of justice wherehe resides or holds office.

With this, chances are:they are also familiar or ac-quainted with the processservers, judges, clerk ofcourts and other courtspersonnel.

This practical consider-ation would make wondersin so far as requesting le-gal favors such as settingsof hearing, postpone-ments, resetting, tran-scripts of stenographic

notes and other thingsthat may be needed.Remember, the main

bulk of work in annulmentor nullity petition proceed-ing is in followups andendless followups. So,distance is an advantage.

In annulment- or nul-lity-petition proceedings,a bad lawyer is one whofails to finish a case.

A good lawyer is onewho finishes it a little morethan a year.

An excellent lawyer isone who sees the urgencyof the proceeding andmakes it happen in theshortest possible time.

Again, we cannot waitfor our freedom to happen.We dream of it every sec-ond, every minute and ev-ery day.


5/8

5NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 2009

Only jury justice can save RP

Wonderful freezer

PrivilegedSpitsBy TOTO CAUSING

To page 7

From page 1

By JOEY GALICIA VENANCIO

Police Posts

without investing tensor hundreds of millions ofpesos in order to win?

This alone is a veryclear proof that we havestarted from a wrong foot-ing for a very fundamentalprocess of our politicalbody. No political struc-ture can stand on a weakfoundation.

This problem has beenhere for over a hundred ofyears yet nothing or solittle has been done aboutit.

We love to copy fromAmericans but we nevercopied their laws prohibit-ing candidates fromspending more than thelimit for their own respec-tive campaigns: that evenif you are a millionaire youare prohibited from usingyour money beyond thelimit, say $2,500, for a presi-dent of the US. We alsonever copied the limit tohow much one person cancontribute. Anyway, nomatter the laws we havenow, the system has totallybroken down that theycannot be implemented bythe Commission on Elec-tions.

These limitations onhow much one can spendfor his own campaign havecompelled the candidatesin the US to come to thevoters and ask for money;instead of our systemwhere voters line up to askfor help from candi-dates.

Actually, thebreakdown of the systemshas erased the distinctionsbetween professionalsand college dropoutsamong elective and ap-pointive officials. Pardonme, all of them are corrupt.

Almost all appoint-ments have become forsale or for the highest bid-ders in terms of quota ofmoney that can be givento the appointing author-

ity every month. And it isthe Office of the Presidentthat profits the most fromthe hidden perks that gowith appointments: such asin the Bureau of Customs,the Bureau of Internal Rev-enue, the Immigration Bu-reau, the Department ofPublic Works and High-ways.

We have this procure-ment laws but the loopholesare plenty to offer opportu-nity for machinations in thebidding.

You apply your son for aposition of PO1 in the po-lice force and he cannot betaken in unless you giveP50,000 to P150,000. So thatwhen he starts serving, hewill recoup the expenses.

You serve a boss in anydepartment and he will re-quire you to do dirty jobsfor him to earn and if yourefuse you would be placedin a floating status. The bossmust earn because he, too,has a quota to be given tothe one who caused his ap-pointment.

Gambling does not stopbecause police officers earnfrom protection rackets.Proof for this is the admis-sion of Chavit Singson thathe collected gambling pro-tection monies from juetenglords to be given to Estrada.Other proofs are the testi-monies of Sandra Cam andothers who detailed howjueteng monies come to thehands of the First Gentle-man, his brother Iggy andson Mikee. It was aroundthis time that Mikee boughtthat luxurious house worth63.7 million pesos in FosterCity, San Mateo County,California, USA.

Of course, all of us are toblame. How can you say thatthere is an honest politicianwhen we know he or shespent millions of pesos inorder to win?

We all know this iswrong but we have not doneanything to stop them.

To the contrary, we keepon voting for these kinds ofleaders all because they givedole outs during campaigns,give money for the funeralexpenses of our relatives,give something for the tu-ition of our children, recom-mended our kids to work,and what else.

So that we can see herethat while our leaders areconsumed by greed forpower and money, ourpeople are stuck in apathyand cynicism in the firm be-lief that nothing can be doneto cure them. General DaniloLim calls this as: Dissentwithout action is consent.

All of us, including theconscientious and thechurches that receive fundsfrom corrupt officials haveresigned to fate.

With these circum-stances we are in, do we stillhave a chance?

Yes, we still have ourchance, actually the lastchance.

During the reign of KingJohn in the late 1100s andearly 1200s, the Englishmensuffered much more tyr-anny, oppression and dis-crimination by the royaltyagainst the commoners, bar-ons and even vassals of theking.

Because of his extremedespotism, he has been la-beled in history as BadKing John, portrayed as avillain in the legendaryRobinhoodstories, andwas a character inShakespeares play, theLifeand Death of King John.

The nobles, the baronsand the vassals combinedtheir forces with Prince Louisof France to rebel againstKing John, promising to theFrench the throne once theywin.

On June 15, 1215, KingJohn was compelled by therebels to sign the MagnaCarta. This was the first andin fact the only significantobjective of rebellion. As if,

the people of England wasinterested only in establish-ing a system where the kingshall be stripped of the rightto decide who shall be im-prisoned or who shall bepunished.

So what is the MagnaCarta?

It is actually a very im-portant statement whichbecame a law in Englandwhen signed by King John.

When it was signed, thejury system was born in En-gland along with all otherfundamental rights, whichsystem was adapted fromNorman invaders who intro-duced the idea to the Brit-ons.

The Magna Cartas juryclause was written in Latinbut its exact English equiva-lent is this: No freemanshall be arrested, or impris-oned or deprived of his free-hold, or his liberties, or freecustoms, or outlawed or ex-iled, or in any manner de- stroyed, nor will he (theking) pass upon him, norcondemn him unless by thejudgment of his peers or bythe law of the land.

Since then, the kingswho succeeded became be-nevolent for they werestripped of the power to judge upon their subjects.For at least four centuries,peace and justice reignedagain in England.

But in the 1600s, thestory became different. Be-cause of the benevolence ofthe kings who reigned afterthe Magna Carta, thepeople gave less importanceto the jury system.

This paved the way forthe kings during this 17 th

century to circumvent theMagna Carta to gain con-trol over the judicial powersexercised by the people.They established the StarChamber through the parlia-ment by deceiving the mem-bers of congress that itwould only serve as the ap-pellate courts for cases de-

cided by the juries, particu-larly those cases where theaccused were nobles whocannot be punished by thelower courts.

But the true intentionwas that the kings wantedtheir honor and throne pro-tected.

So that it turned out laterthat it became a tool of re-pression to hit hard on theenemies of the kings. Theseenemies are usually thenobles and the barons. Thecases then tried by the StarChamber included only po-

litical crimes such as libelagainst the throne andthose writings andspeeches that instigated re-bellion.

So that this libel law nowpunishing reporters in thePhilippines has no reason toexist here. It is very clear thiscrime was designed to pro-tect the kings. In our case,the theory is that the king isthe people. If it is so, thepeople can be served onlybe informing them of whatshenanigans are doing.

In 1641, the clamor toabolish the Star Chamber

bore fruit because of the se-vere treatment suffered bythe dissenters against thearchbishop and the king.

Since then, the jury sys-tem has become strong thatit still exists until now inEngland.

This jury devise becameembedded in the society. Forthis, the people have beenfeeling they are already as-sured of no despotism fromthe kings. In fact, they havenot changed the king orqueen anymore.

Later, the strong exist-ence of the jury system re-

sulted in the stripping of theking and queen of the ex-ecutive power. Today, thehead of the monarch, in theperson of Queen Elizabeth,becomes only the symbol ofpower of England.

Since then, Englandhas seen the rise of popu-list ideas such as that ofJohn Stuart Mill, who es-poused the continuingclash of ideas as necessaryfor the never-endingsearch for truth. Theformer punishment ofstripping the ear of a per-son convicted of libel hasbeen considered as a hei-nous act. Mill cited thatduring the time of JesusChrist, nobody believed inhim. But now, more than abillion people believe inhis words as the truth.

Mill espoused the idea thatin governments based onthe popular will of thepeople, libel has no reasonto exist.

This jury principlespread to almost all of Eu-rope, modifying only inform but the substance isthe same. And the sub-stance is: to precludeabuse by the powers thatbe, whoever would rein atany given time.

This jury system wasthen adopted 221 yearsago by George Washing-ton when they founded

the United States ofAmerica in Philadelphia.

What is in the sub-stance that makes it com-pelling for these govern-ments?

It is the fact that themembers of the jury whowould adjudge an ac-cused, usually 12 persons,are too difficult to be in-fluenced by the powerfuland influential men asagainst one man as ajudge.

The jurors composingthe jury are sometimesempanelled, or kept in a se-

cret place, depending onthe dangers posed by theaccused.

Then, the US followedthe grand jury scheme to

AFTER the devastationsof the storms Ondoyand Pepeng that sub-merged Metro Manila andsix other regions ofLuzon, one of the majorproblems is the few sup-ply of rice, fish and otherbasic foods in the arearavaged by floods.

In other areas, manywould have stocks of meatand fish but these weredamaged or became rottenfor lack of electric powerfor days.

Now, we found thatthere is a new technologyto resolve this problem intimes of crisis like this.

The features and ben-efits of this new technologywere explained by its inven-tor, Hernie Dacena, last Sun-day in the weekly programfor science hosted byAngelo Palmones onDZMM, Bago Yan Ah!

With this technology,called Brine ImmersionFreezing, the products suchas fish or meat can be storedup to two or three days inthe styrofoam boxes with-out the use of ice.

When you put theseproducts inside the freezeror chiller after undergoingBIF processes, the meat andfish products would last for

six months.And another nice feature

of this technology is it cankeep the freshness of thefish up to two or three daysafter undergoing BIF.

And if it will becomesoft, it will still be as freshas newly-caught fish thatyou can grill or cook thefood in any way. It does notbecome putrescent.

In addition, it only takesthree to 30 minutes, depend-ing on the type, size or vol-ume of processed productssubjected to BIF in order forit to be frozen. This is enor-mously wonderful com-pared to the commonly-used method that takesthree to four hours to pro-duce an ice with the use of

air-blast system.Another advantage of

this technology is the easeby which the equipmentmay be transferred from oneplace to another andplugged anywhere, unlikethe old technology that re-quired large area for a per-manent placement.

A BIF with a wheel standis just the size of a chest-type refrigerator so that it iseasy to be brought any-where and plugged into anelectric outlet.

Those who will be ben-efited the most by this tech-nology are the small fisher-men who need to spend ex-tra money to buy ice to en-sure their products are notdamaged.

Of course, this will alsobenefit the consumers be-cause when the meat andfish products treatedthrough BIF will come tothem still fresh as a newly-caught fish.

The BIF can also be usedas ice-making machine. Itcan produce 3,000 kilos ofice per day, equivalent toeight to 10-pound blocks ofice per track. This is againenormously wonderful com-pared to the usual ice blockmaker that can take about37 hours to make 130pounds of blocks of ice inan ice plant with a capacityof 20 to 60 tons per day.

This agri-freeze solutionwas approved by the Bu-reau of Fisheries through its

Microbiological Methodof Bacteriological Analy-sis and passed the Phar-macology and Toxicologytests of the University ofthe Philippines.

Now, because of wors-ening global warming andclimate change, we mustprepare for the worstwhere there will be deepflooding and at the sametime lack of food supplyand lack of electricity.

The BIF equipment willbe shown and demon-strated to the public by itsinventor during the semi-nar-exhibit of the Philip-pine Society of Mechani-cal Engineers in Novem-ber at the SM Mall of Asiain Pasay City.


6/8

NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 20096

By OMAY E.RENTA

T

HE Philippineversion of theKorean novelae n t i t l e d

Stairway toHeaven has continued togain ratings in Mega Ma-nila, this time beating itsrival with 29.6 % and 31%overnight ratings onWednesday and Thursday,respectively.

In the coming days, theratings are expected to con-tinue to rise when the epi-sode goes to a scene show-ing how Cholo persistentlytries to convince Jena thatshe is his long-lost girlfriendin the person of Jodi.

The more he spends timewith Jena, the more he falls

in love with her. However,the stumbling blocks areCharlie and Eunice whostand firm not to bring Jenasmemory back.

The success of Stairwayto Heaven in the hearts oftelevision viewers hasproven that GMA-KapusoNetwork did not err inchoosing Rhian Ramos asthe right person to performthe main character of thePinoy version of Stairway toHeaven.

It is likewise a successfor GMA-Networks filmproducer Annette Gozon as

she is the discoverer ofRhian Ramos.

Notably, in so short atime of her career, Rhian

shows she can pace withveteran actors and ac-tresses in the Philippineshow business.

She proved it when shestarred her own TelenovelaLalola where she playedLola, the female alter ego ofa successful philanderingexecutive.

Before her first primetimetelenovela, she wentthrough seven differentshows in television such as:Codename: Asero, whichwas starred by RichardGutierrez; Pinoy Idol Exta,where she acted as host-

guest role in Bubble Gang;Lupin, where she teamed upwith Richard Gutierrez forthe second time; Mad MadFun where she acted as her-self; and Captain Barbell,where she played the roleas the love interest of Rich-ard Gutierrez and as her firsttelevision appearance.

For three years in hercareer, Rhian had made fivemovies: suspense-thrillerSundo, where she starredopposite of Robin Padilla;I.T.A.L.Y., where she actedopposite Richard Gutierrezand Mark Herras, sepa-

rately; horror-blockbusterOuija; My Monster Mom,starred by Ruffa and her

mom; and her debut film,the Promise, as the third-wheel in Gutierrez and An-gel Locsin tragic lovestory.

She is soon to play thelead role in the latest bigscreen version of Panday,the ultimate all-Filipino hero.

Rhian Denise RamosHowell was discovered bythe GMA-Kapuso NetworkExecutive in a McJelly TrioGirl advertisement on TVwhile she was yet a fifteen-year-old.

She started as a modeland made a fast transition

to showbiz when she wasplayed as the leading ladyof Captain Barbell. Thattime she was 16 years old.

She captured the herosheart and eventually theviewers everywhere who fellfor her natural beauty.

She showed good actingin her first-ever role evenwithout any acting experi-ence. She had no doubtswhen she accepted the firstrole. This was so becausethe only thing in her mindthen was that she was get-ting a big break, so shegrabbed the opportunity.

Rhians first day was amemorable for her becausethe whole cast and her di-rectors made her feel verywelcome.

She was also surprisedthat her directors alwaysgave her tips and helped hercome to terms with her emo-tions.

Rhian is seen as ahappy person who has acatching smile that canwarm a persons heart atthe moment she meets himand her.

Her philosophy in life issimple: You just have to be

positive all the time espe-cially in a world like thiswhere a lot of things canhappen that can pull youdown. You have to stand upto succeed.

Born on the October 3,1990, her name Rhian is ofWales origin, chosen by hergrandfather from a fairytaleprincess named Rhianon.

Her unforgettable mo-ment in showbiz occurredwhen she was informedthrough a phone that shewas chosen as Leah, thelead star in Captain Barbell.

Rhian loves to eat and

From page 7

but Pacquiao holds his own.The overriding equation

is as follows: is Cottosspeed close enough toPacquaios to let him landand is Pacquiaos powerclose enough to Cottos tomake his punches punish?The reality ratio of those twofactors are the crux of thisfights outcome.

While you can questionCottos durability at this

point, you cannot questionhis heart. He is a warriorthrough and through. Andwhile you may question thetrue value of Pacquiaosmost recent conquerings,you cannot question hisbravery. In facing down big-ger, highly respected oppo-nents he has proven to trulybe with No Fear, a state-ment his trunks are oftenemblazoned with.

The combination ofthese fighters, facing off ina ballet of brutality shouldbe enough to set off anyfight fans excellence detec-tor, for when these men, twoof the sports prized practi-tioners, meet up on the 14thit should be an electrifyingshowdown that sends oneof them rocketing into thestratosphere and the otherdrifting back to earth.

The Rise and fall of MannyPacquiao and Miguel Cotto

Rhianto heavenwalkswatch movies. She lovesher Doberman pet shenamed Claw. Her favor-ite actor is Tom Hanks. Sheloves the movies Peter Pan,Gladiator and Spider ManPart 1. Her favorite bookis, The Very Hungry Cat-

erpillar, written by EricCarle.Rhian was also named

as No. 24 in FHMs 100 Sexi-est Women in the World(Philippine Edition). Later,she went up to the 12th spot.

She was nominated asBest New Female TV Person-ality for Captain Barbell in the2007, when in the same year

she was awarded with thehonor of a BreakthroughPerformance for the 2007

film, The Promise in theGolden Screen Award.

Recently, Rhian prom-ised a change as shelaunched her first single,You, the carrier song ofAudition Dance Album.

She is now busy on her

mall tour which started Oc-tober up to the last week ofNovember this year.


7/8

7NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 2009

From page 2

DOUBLE-COMPENSATION RACKET AT LBP

Guns that dont fire; scheme that earns big

Only jury justice can save RPFrom page 5

have the power to determinewho should be hailed to trialin court.

This grand jury also com-posed by people secretly

raffled from the voters listhas been made so powerfulthat it can indict even thePresident of the US. It cansecretly initiate a criminal in-vestigation. It can subpoenawitnesses who are afraid orbought and call in law en-forcers to find evidence andwitnesses. All those whorefuse its order can be jailedin contempt until the witnessagrees to speak and the lawenforcer agrees to work.

Thus, all those involvedin the Watergate scandal,particularly the attorneygeneral of President Nixon,

were tried. Nixon was luckyfor he was pardoned by hissuccessor, Gerald Ford,even before trial can begin.

Thus, we can clearly seethat with this kind ofpeoples justice system thepowerful politicians andwealthy violators of law can-not anymore continue theircorrupt, abusive and dis-criminatory ways.

We can say that with the jury system, we can nowcurb corruption and killingsof journalists and politicalenemies. Those who nowbelieve they can always get

away with killing enemies andstealing public funds willhave fear of doing it again ifthe justice system in the Phil-ippines is the jury system.

We can also say that wecan slowly resolve rebellions

because the jury can nowimplement laws on discrimi-nations that serve as the rootof these revolts. For example,it can punish Christian Fili-pinos for racial slurs ordeeds, or vice versa.

In my last column, I dis-cussed how 300 years of dis-crimination by the ChristianFilipinos against the Mus-lim Filipinos made the latterdecide to separate from thePhilippines for they feel thatthey have not been treatedas brothers anyway.

If England succeeded inremoving despotism by the

kings and queens, the UShas succeeded in uniting theBlacks and the Whites afterinstalling jury systems 221years ago.

This success is provenby the fact that black enter-tainers and singers have ac-tually established recordsno Whites have reached.

Michael Jackson becamethe greatest American musi-cian of all time, besting evenElvis Presley and the Beatlesby far margins.

Oprah Winfrey is one ofthe most popular televisionhosts. Many emerged as

stars in basketball and othersports arenas. Of course, noone can forget Michael Jor-dan as the greatest basket-ball player of all time.

Lately, this success ofovercoming racial discrimina-

tion is evidenced further bythe election of Black Presi-dent Barack Hussein Obamain a country where the Blackvoters constitute only 15%.

If the USA succeeded inuniting its people where it isharder to unite two colors,Black and White, because ofthe continuous functioningof the jury systems and ifEngland united their Catho-lic Ireland and Protestant En-glishmen, how much moresuccess would come to thePhilippines where the color ofour skin is only one: Brown?

With this, I strongly be-

lieve that the only way to savethe Philippines is to establishjury systems, whereby eachman has the right to be ad- judged only by his fellowswhether he should be ac-cused, arrested or jailed.

So, join us in the Jury

Movement to give this nation

a chance to be great again.

Please register at http://

philjury.ning.com.

You may send text messages

to 09299220024 or email me at

[email protected],

[email protected],

[email protected],

or [email protected].

Moreover, the state au-dit agency also discoveredthat in 2008 LIBI incurredexpenditures more than itsapproved budget with nega-

tive variance totalingP11.061 million; payment ofperformance incentive pro-gram worth P2.568 million toemployees, officers, boardof directors did not conformwith the provisions ofMemorandum Order No. 20and Administrative OrderNo. 103; understatement ofP48.200 million, accountsreceivable-trade and ac-counts payable-insurancecompanies; understatingP7.754 million drawn duringthe year, were unreleased asof December 31, 2008, butwere already recognized as

credits to Cash in Bank; ag-ing schedule of Due to Prin-cipal account does not tallywith its subsidiary ledgerand general ledger, a differ-ence of P10.708 million.

From 2000 to 2006,

Margarito Teves, was chiefof LBP and chairperson ofall the LBP subsidiaries,which the COA found tohave committed variousanomalies.

He likewise played a keyrole in the release of P3 bil-lion ghost pig loan toQuedancor, two months be-fore the 2004 presidential bidof GMA vs FPJ. Pico thenwas senior executive vicepresident.

As LBP top honcho in2005, an estimated P26 bil-lion tax collection depositedin LBP was missing. A small

time LBP branch managerArt San Juan and othersmall participants were in-dicted recently by the De-partment of Justice. Howabout the big fish?

As DOF chief, Teves

missed tax collection targetsby hundreds of billions.With Teves dubious per-

formance in LBP, does hestill have the moral back-bone to lead in thegovernments tax drive?

Could it be that the sup-posed taxes to be remittedto the national treasury arediverted to another pocket?

Will he follow the ex-ample given by BIR Com-missioner (BIR) Commis-sioner Sixto Esquivias IVwho resigned following hisfailure to meet the targetedtax collections?

BLUE guards of Greenbelt

malls or those shoppingcenters owned and oper-ated by Ayala group weresaid to have been instructednot to engage in a shootoutwith criminals, like rob-bers.

This was according toMetro Manila policespokesperson Supt.Rommel Miranda.

This security policy be-ing implemented in malls isquite disturbing. Maybethis is the reason criminalsdo their thing right in broaddaylight for they feel as-sured they could escape

unscathed provided nopolicemen are around.What is the use of the

guns of security guards ifthey will not use it to detercriminals in invadingmalls?

Is this a standard policyin malls?

It is about time that thePhilippine National Policeand the organization of se-curity guard operators(PADPAO) review thispolicy.

Blue guards are forcemultipliers. Meaning, theyhelp government police

force in enforcing the lawsof the land, especiallywhen it comes to protect-ing lives and properties.

The recent robbery in-cident at Greenbelt 5 wasnot the first broad daylight

heist in a mall.Remember the armored

van robbery at Walter Mart

in Muoz, Quezon City andthe bank robbery at SMNorth Edsa?

It is about time the gov-ernment revive the Police-Marine tandem.

The policemans pres-ence is a symbol of thegovernments resolve toprevent robbery and pettycrimes while the Marinespresence shows the sincer-ity of the authorities to pre-

vent terror attacks.* * *

Camp Crame spokesmanSenior Supt. LeonardoEspina clarified that policebodyguards of politiciansare not allowed to carryguns if they are not inproper police uniform.

He said this policy is be-ing enforced to avoid mis-encounter.

* * *Stradcoms Radio Fre-

quency ID is simply amoney-making scheme that

will benefit not the govern-ment but some unscrupu-lous government officials.

Maybe a big chunk ofthis will be used to financethe administration presi-dential candidate next year.

Remember, Malacaangis hell bent in ensuring vic-tory for its 2010 presiden-tial candidate.

President GloriaMacapagal Arroyo doesnot want to experience thesame fate of former Presi-dent Joseph Ejercito

for plugging any lingeringmental fissures that haveappeared in his confidence.

* * *Manny Pacquiao has

mutated: From a raw, all de-stroying dynamo, to a half-controlled burgeoning boxer,and now to a well-roundedprecision power puncher.

Pacquiaos rise up theweight charts has coincidedwith a dampening of his re-liance on natural ability andmore emphasis on learnedskills and technique.

His dominant winsagainst De La Hoya andHatton seem to suggest thathe is capable of fighting atthese weights with greatsuccess, but perhaps whathas been hidden by the

sheen of their impressivenames is the actual qualityof those two fighters at thetime Pacquiao got them inthe ring.

Without meaning to takeanything away from theseterrific wins, one could stillmake a legitimate case thatPacquiaos impressivenesswas at least partially bol-stered by the inefficienciesof his two foes.

Stated plainly, Pacquiaostill has something to proveat weights in excess of 135pounds. In facing Cotto hewill be squaring off against

his first elite fighter, still inhis prime, since abandoningthe lower weights.

* * *Lets quickly tick off the

advantages and disadvan-tages for each.

Size favors Cotto, thoughby a slimmer margin thanmight be expected, at leaston paper. They stand withinan inch of one another andreach is the same.

The catchweight may af-fect Cotto who used to suf-fer to make 140lbs. At145lbs. he will be forced todrain off an extra bit for thisfight. It could be the differ-ence in a gruelling bout, butin my estimation it will be aminor factor. Cotto will likelyoutweigh Pacquiao after re-hydrating leading up to thefight. Regardless of height,

reach and weighing in thesame, Cotto will be biggerand fightbigger when theopening round begins.

The counterpoint of thatis that Pacquiao will befaster. How much faster maydetermine the outcome ofthe fight. Ripping a pagefrom Cottos own recentplaybook, Manny may lookto potshot and counter forlarge portions of the round.Its not his traditional style,but he showed a fleet footedfinesse against Hatton thatwould suggest he couldemploy a highly effective

guerilla warfare mode of at-tack; strike and maneuverout before any retaliationcan find you.

His dynamic speed anddexterity may overwhelmMiguel, who at times,

though he was able tomatch Mosleys speed, canbe plodding and measuredwith a penchant for admir-ing his work.

If Cotto finds himselfchasing Pacquiao acrossthe ring, trying to corral theFilipino for prolongedstretches, it could be a longnight for the Puerto Rican.Cotto will have to employhis underrated jab to keepPacquiao occupied while heworks to get close toManny. But if he cant laygloves on him, it may leadto frustration and even foul-

ing which Cotto has notbeen above before.For Pacquiaos part, hed

be well served to stay offthe ropes and keep Cottofrom getting set to rip shotsto his body.

Its those shots thatbring us to the next factor,power. Cotto will undoubt-edly be the heaviest handedopponent that Pacquiao hasfaced. While Margarito andClottey were able to with-stand extreme amounts ofbattery, they are two excep-tions in the division... per-haps in the entire sport.

It might be easy to for-get that before facing thosetitanium headed titans,Cotto was consideredpound for pound one of themore devastating punchersin the sport.

His punching prowessmade Gianluca Branco quitafter a crushing punch... tothe shoulder. It leftQuintana sucking wind onthe canvas debilitated andnursing a severely batteredliver. And PaulieMalignaggis face grosslydistorted, a bone in his facebusted and deformed.

It can even be arguedthat the punishment hefoisted on Margarito overthe course of their brutalshowdown, likewise, tooksomething out of the con-troversial Tijuana fighter

and in short softened himup for his ultimate collapseagainst Mosely.

Pacquiaos own powerseems to have carried upwith him admirably, his ex-plosive knockout of RickyHatton being the most illus-trative example. Howeverone wonders if Cotto hadfought the De La Hoya thatPacquiao did, would theGolden Boy have been leftto call it a career on his stool,or would he have beensplayed on the canvas, per-haps pounding it futilelyfrom a body shot like the

one Hopkins delivered?The salient point how-ever is whether Pacquiao willhave enough firepower tohurt Cotto, and I believe hedoes. Cotto holds the edge,

The Rise & Fall of Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto

To page 6

From page 8

Estrada who was im-peached, jailed and foundguilty of plunder.

RFID is not a new thingin the country. SCTEX,NLEX and SLEX are imple-menting it without any coston the part of the motorists.

These road operators donot sell RFID stickers.They simply encode theplate number and the carmake in their data base.

Stradcoms RFID is re-portedly priced at P350.We have around six million

private, public and govern-ment cars.

Thats a whopping P2 bil-lion income for Stradcom!

After much brouhaha,the scheduled October 1implementation was de-ferred. It will have a dry runin January next year.

But by February, all carsare required to buy the ex-pensive sticker in time forthe campaign period.

* * *Send you comments to

[email protected].

By JAIME PILAPIL


8/8

NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 20098

LEAVEMANNY

ALONE!WHEN Manny PacmanPacquiao was yet a smallman in boxing, nobodyseemed wanting to be withhim, except for formerMandaluyong City MayorBenjamin Abalos Sr. whohelped the guy in his earlyyears.

But now that he is a bigstar, holder of six titles andat the same time hailed asthe Worlds Pound-4-

Pound King at that, every-body wants to be with him.Oh my God!This greatest Filipino

boxer of all time needs abreathing space! He needsconcentration on hispreparation for anothervery big fight of his life!

For him to lose this oneis unacceptable.

So, politicians must re-frain from attempting to talkto him and trying to courtMannys endorsement fora political end!

It was reported that af-ter Manny Pacquiao left

Baguio City for Manila,people have continued towonder why. They were allmade to believe that he wasscheduled to complete hisinitial preparations for thefight in this summer capitalof the country.

Then there is this newtwist, a national paper said.

Freddie Roach,Pacquiaos coach, expresshis dismay against Sen.Manuel Villar Jr. for inter-rupting the training pro-gram of the countrys na-tional pride.

As a result, most nega-

tive comments were read onthe Internet in relation toHBOs 24/7 presentation ofthe Pacquiao-Miguel Cottofight as part of the promo-tion.

Most of these commentsblamed Villar for interrupt-ing Pacquiaos training.

In the video shown,Roach said Team Pacquiaoshould have left Saturdaynight or else typhoonRamil would catch up withthem.

However, Pacquiao en-tertained Villar as his guestat The Manor in Camp John

By RONALD B. HERICO

Hay. Pacquiao was hesitantto leave.

While taking lunch withVillar, the coach approachedPacquiao and the senatorwho is running for presidentto remind them of what HBO24/7 described as a stand-off that turned severe.

Roach insisted toPacquiao they had to go.

In a separate interview,Roach threatened to quit if

Pacquiao stalled butcooler heads prevailed.Inquirer reported that

the first part of the HBO 24/7 feature was shown Satur-day in the United States,where Villar appeared.

The HBO crew arrivedafter typhoon Pepengdevastated parts of thecity.

This particular sequel forthe fight promotionshowed the Team Pacquiaobeing caught in the ty-phoon that forced Pacquiaoto swim for a few days in-stead of jogging.

Despite media inter-views that they would fin-ish their training at ShapeUp Boxing Gym inCooyeesan Mall until Oct.24, Roach got ready toleave Saturday night.

The feature showedRoach and Pacquiao hav-ing dinner Saturday nightand later talking in Roachssuite about the need toleave the next day.

If we stay here, we havea chance of getting stuck.Or we can do it tomorrow sowe can sleep tonight,Roach was heard as saying.

Villar showed up Sun-day night and the plan toleave seemed delayed, lead-ing to the Roach-Villarstand-off.

It was not known whatPacquiao and Villar dis-cussed.

But the presidential can-didate is known to havebeen trying to plug all pos-sible holes in his determinedbid for the presidency.

As such, it was sur-mised that the immensepopularity of Pacquiao wasbeing sought to put a bigpush on his campaign.

A YouTube segment

was leaked on Oct. 26 butonly a few was able towatch it.

Nevertheless, all thosewho saw gave nasty reac-tions to Villars actuations.

(He) should be in ty-phoon-devastated placeshelping others, oneviewer reacted.

Villar is no doubt to bethe most determined among

all presidential candidates

to win the contest.It was reported that hehas already spent P1.5 bil-lion of his own money forthis.

Earlier, Villar did someshows with WillieRevillames Wowowee,popular for having beenknown to be giving awaymoney to contestants will-ing to show off their talents

or simply embarrass them-

selves in front of cameras.This real estate mogul isnow facing a Senate ethicsinvestigation for road fund-ing anomalies, such asdouble funding of a roadnamed C5. But he hasbeen snubbing this.

Villar succeeded in get-ting the support ofRevillame, who remainedextremely popular despite

the deaths of 74 would-be

contestants on Feb. 4, 2006in a stampede of people try-ing to get into his show.

Additionally, Villar suc-ceeded in getting the sup-port of allies of PresidentArroyo.

To the contrary, theHBO 24/7 prequel seg-ments showed Cotto fo-cused and relaxed on histraining in Florida.

ON a recent trip to PuertoRico, at a time whenMannys personal minionswere to be seen prowlingabout the streets of SanJuan, bedecked in TeamPacquiao track suits, bid-ing time until the press con-ference scheduled later thatweek and eating mofongosat any number of quaint eat-eries before strolling backto their accommodationsamong the resort ladenstreets, I had the chance totalk to a few Puerto Ricansabout the upcoming boutbetween their beloved boxer

and the Filipino phenom.One such islander, a taxidriver I got to chatting with,told me Of course I wantCotto to win. I have greatpride in my country. So ofcourse I want Cotto to win...but... I like Pacquiao, hesmy favorite. The man toldme this with a sheepish,apologetic grin that seemedto plead, Please dontmention this to anyone.

Its eye-opening thatPacquiaos ubiquitous ap-peal is so strong that a PuertoRican who, so he told me,has never left the island,

would be rooting for the Fili-pino outright if not for a pa-

triotic sense of duty to hiscountry.On the flip side of that,

Ive seen Puerto Ricansborn and raised in one of thefive boroughs of New York,out of their minds and rau-cous at Madison SquareGarden shrieking in reveriefor a man (Pacquiao) from aland theyve never been.

Both men are worthy ofsuch adulation and bothmen are torch bearers fortheir profession. The torch,however, slips fromeveryones hands at somepoint.

One senses that MiguelCotto and Manny Pacquiaoare both at precarious posi-tions within their careers.

On the Puerto Ricanpugilists side, a string ofless than scintillating out-ings has triggered whispersthat Cottos brutalizing lossin the hands (augmented orotherwise) of AntonioMargarito in the summer of2008 may have permanentlychanged his mentality andlongevity within the sport.

Over that same time pe-riod, the Filipino fighter hascontinually tempted the

scales, fighting well abovewhat was thought to be his

prime weight, taking on in-creasingly larger men andrunning the risk of hubristhat could dethrone himfrom the pinnacle of the sportat which he now resides.

When they stare at oneanother from across thering, awaiting the bell tosound and set off the furythat will ensue, one of theircareer paths will be on theteetering precipice of veer-ing in an entirely differentand less acclaimed path.

Over the course of thatthirty six minutes of action(or less), both mens stat-

ure... profitability... andlegacy will be altered. How,and by how much, is whywe watch.

* * *Miguel Cotto has mu-

tated: From a stalkingbrawler, to a boxer puncher,and now, some would claim,a pot-shotting runner.

The truth is, Miguel is alittle of all those things, andhis opponent indictateswhich one well see. In thecase of his matchup withPacquiao, Cotto should bethe naturally bigger, morerugged man. Obviously it

would be to his advantageto make it a rough-and-

tumble affair where heforces the action.What Cotto has had

trouble with of late are big-ger men, who he cannothurt. Margarito was theepitome of that mold, up untilShane Mosley punishedand stopped the TijuanaTornado early this year.Clottey, had the sametoughness, though lackedthe relentlessness thatMargarito had been so suc-cessful with. Both mencaused Cotto to shift froman excellent boxer-puncherto more of a hit-and-run art-

ist.It would seem that asphysically arduous as theMargarito fight was forCotto, it may have equally-damaged his psyche tosome extent.

The good news for Cottois that in Manny Pacquiao,he is not facing a bigger,unhurt-able punishmentsponge, but a smaller, morevulnerable pugilist. Thatalone is a key factor for, notonly Miguel Cottoschances at sustaining a suc-cessful fight plan, but also

The Rise & Fall of Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto

To page 7

By Jeff Pryor

Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao during their promotional tour that kicked off in New York City leading to fiveother American cities.

dyaryo magdalo

Documents